Page 227 of Night's Fall
I heard it beforeIsaw it when he opened the door.
I only took two steps out beforeIhalted.
The mingled sound of wolves howling and big cats and bears roaring was a low din that carried across the water to theSceptredIsle.
And the air was rife with dragons.
“What’s happening?”Iwhispered.
The king turned to me, and my breath caught whenIsaw the fierce expression on his face and his eyes glowing gold.
“TheirTrueBridewas threatened.Theshifters ofNight’sFallprepare for war.”
Fargingfarg.
Chapter34
Suite
It was still dark the next morning whenIfeltAlekseipull from my arms and leave our bed.
WhenIheard the door to the bathroom close,Iturned to my back and stared into the murky room.
We’d both had a restless night.
Not a surprise.
It was also the first night since we lived together where we did not make love.
That wasn’t a surprise either.
Then again,Alekseihad been called away, soI’dgone to bed alone and had been so dead asleep,Ihadn’t felt him join me untilIwoke due to him shifting.
Commence our restless nights.
And asIlay there,Ithought much the same thoughts as had assaulted my brain over and over through the dark hours.
Primarily, remembering one of the last thingsAnthemesaid on this earth was that she was going to protect me.
Yes, she’d been referring to theMasque, but the message was the same.
Our conversation wasn’t me sharing how muchIliked her, gruff and distant and blunt as she was, or the fact that her being gruff, distant and blunt were big reasons whyIliked her.
It wasn’t about how muchIappreciated her looking out for me.
We’d shared throwaway words.Nothingimportant.Twofemales walking to a craft and talking.
And then her lifeless body thudded to the pavement on a city street, and she was no more.
I wanted those last moments back for so many reasons.
To grab hold of her and pull her down with me so she would still be here.
To shift time soAntheme, orFannon, or someone saw the shooter and stopped them before they released the blast.
Or simply to have our final conversation be about something meaningful.
To shut down these thoughts,Iturned to my side, claimingAleksei’spillow and holding it close, breathing in his scent.
